Conventionally, various types of apparatus are known as apparatus for dispensing disc-like coins.
For example, it is known to disclose a hopper apparatus in which a stack wheel is provided on a front of a top section of a pinwheel, a plurality of pins are provided on the circumference of the pinwheel between a circumferential section of the pinwheel and a circumferential section of the stack wheel in a radial manner. Furthermore an agitator which has three projections is anchored on a central section of the stack wheel to agitate the coins in the hopper.
This apparatus is constituted in such a manner that the pinwheel, the stack wheel, and the agitator are mutually integrally rotated with a cone-like body with the result that the apparatus is rotated in the hopper in the same direction with the same number of rotations.
At first, the coins reach a groove within the hopper. Since the pinwheel and elements associated with the pinwheel are arranged at a certain angle, coins are moved into the groove. Thereafter, the coins are agitated with the agitator, and are engaged with an outer pin of the pinwheel. Coins can form a mutually stacked posture until the coins reach a position corresponding to two o'clock of a clock.
A wiper is engaged with any coins which are stacked to sweep down the coins into the hopper. The coins which pass above a top section of the stack wheel are engaged with a knife to separate the coin for release. Thereafter, the coins proceed by crossing the knife. Then, the coins are discharged into an exhaust chute in an accelerated manner. The chute has a coin deflector which is engaged with coins to deflect the coins toward the center. Thereafter, the coins are discharged freely to an outer tray.
The knife is mounted on a axis in such a manner that an attachment position thereof can be freely adjusted. Consequently, a stack plate having a desired diameter and the agitator can be located on the pinwheel so as to accommodate coins having different sizes.
The prior art further discloses that a supply ring and an agitator can be rotated in a direction opposite to each other by starting the drive motor in the state in which the coins are accommodated in an irregular manner with the result that coins which are fixed to the inner surface of the supply ring are picked up with a coin supply claw and a fixed vertical support plate while agitating the coins in the hopper so that the coins are sent to a coin dispensing opening located above while applying a pressing force to the surface.
In particular, this apparatus is intended to improve the picking up of coins in the hopper with the supply ring, and the device comprises a plate-like agitating member having a plurality of radial arms made of synthetic rubber which is fixed with a pressure plate and a screw on a disc so that the plate-like agitating member is projected from the front side surface of the support plate by locating the disc in a disc hole formed on a vertical support plate at a position corresponding to the lower half section inside of the supply ring.
Consequently, the coins are agitated with the agitator which is rotated reversely with respect to the supply ring in the hopper, so that coins can be efficiently picked up with the supply jaw of the supply ring.
In the first prior art, as the coins are moved to the side of the rotation direction of the pinwheel while being agitated with the agitator, the movement of the coins becomes slow at positions corresponding, for example, to a direction of 6 to 5 o'clock or 4 o'clock of a dial of a clock as seen from the front surface, so that many coins tend to be concentrated at those positions.
At locations where the movement of the coins becomes slow, the movement of the coins starts to conflict with each other with the result that the coins are not introduced into the coin transport passage Pa comprising a pinwheel and a stack wheel whereby coins move in a mutually opposite direction with the result that an idle state is generated.
As a consequence, in the coin transport passage Pa, an irregular dispensing of the coins is generated, and an idle dispensing of the coins is generated with the result that the dispensing efficiency is poor and an accurate dispensing of the predetermined coin count cannot be conducted.
Furthermore, the agitator cannot go so far as to agitate the coins in the vicinity of the bottom section of the hopper because the shaft core of the output shaft is rotatably supported on the center of the hopper. Thus, the agitation efficiency is further deteriorated.
Furthermore, with respect to this apparatus, it is required that adjustment parts such as a wiper and a knife are required to be arranged as a countermeasure for maintaining a separation of the coins in the dispensing track of the coins and a stable dispensing posture of coins as a countermeasure for preventing the joggling of coins in the dispensing output. For this reason, the number of parts can become large, so that the cost is increased while an adjustment of the wiper and the knife is required every time the stack wheel is exchanged with the result that it takes a long time to manufacture and assemble the machine and the work thereof is very troublesome.
Furthermore, the stack wheel of this machine is rotatably and exchangeably provided on the tip section of the pinwheel. In accordance with the size of the coins to be applied, the stack wheel must have a size of a diameter with a predetermined relation with the diameter of the pinwheel.
However, the pinwheel is fixed to the stack wheel which can be exchanged and the pins which are provided thereon are arranged in a definite distance.
Consequently, in the case where the stack wheel is exchanged in correspondence to the size of the coins, a shift is generated in a position relationship with respect to the pins for the coin which is delivered between the stack wheel and the pins with the result that an irregular dispensing of the coins is generated or the dispensing of the coins becomes unstable.
In the second prior art, since the coins are pressed with the pressure force with the supply claw of the supply ring and the pressure of the plate-like agitating member of the agitator which is reversely rotated for agitation, the coins provide a large friction and resistance factor with respect to the agitator which has a larger number of revolutions than the supplying ring has and which is reversely rotated so that agitating member may wear and the life of the member itself is shortened, and the coins themselves are damaged by the agitating member.
Furthermore, there is also a problem in that the agitating member must be exchangeable in a short time period.